


Lights out

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: How to woo your local barista [14]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Barista Raphael, Blackouts, Declarations Of Love, Demisexual Raphael Santiago, Established Relationship, Fluff, Homoromantic Raphael Santiago, Idiots in Love, Insecure Simon, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Beta Read, Overthinking, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Singing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vegetarian Simon, awkward Simon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 11:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7932409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Uh...hi?" Simon lifted a hand, noticed the knife his fingers were still wrapped around and placed said object back on the table to repeat the awkward little wave without holding a dangerously sharp item. Raphael tilted his head, drew his eyebrows together in confusion and leant his shoulder against the doorframe.</p><p>"<em>Hi</em>, yourself. Not that I mind but what are doing here?" Raphael questioned and it was a nice surprise seeing his boyfriend but he wasn't quite sure what was going on here. Okay, judging from the food on the table partly cut and placed into bowls, it was certain to say that Simon was in the process of preparing food to be cooked.</p><p>"I...uhm...wanted to...," Simon stammered and pointed at the mess of partly chopped up food on the table, "surprise you by cooking for you?" He finished the sentence and now it was the elder's turn to frown slightly at himself for making it sound like a question. Raphael held back a snort of amusement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lights out

**Author's Note:**

> I stayed up all night until almost 6am to finish this because I couldn't stop writing *laughs* I hope my sleepy brain did produce something half useful. The beginning was different at first but then I changed it and I'm still not too sure about it but I kind of like the second half of this chapter?

It was Saturday and Raphael had one of these horrible late shifts again because one of his colleagues was sick. It was supposed to be his day off that he had wanted to spend with his boyfriend but now it was half past 10 and the day was almost over, despite the fact that he had gotten off work half an hour early. The whole week had been weirdly off, he had barely seen Simon and the two days the other had been at the coffee shop, his attention was glued to his phone most of the time. Raphael had no clue what was going on with the other but it honestly bothered him because Simon usually had trouble keeping his attention away from him. It wasn't like the elder was ignoring him and it seemed like he might not even be aware of this obviously unusual behaviour but it made Raphael weirdly uneasy.

Raphael felt especially stupid about how much this bothered him because he actually tried to talk about this with Magnus who would probably never let him live this down. His best friend had ended his teasing by saying that there was nothing for Raphael to worry about, that " _This boy is completely smitten with you_ ", and the younger boy decided he would not talk to the other about stuff like this ever again. Magnus was being ridiculous and he himself was being even more ridiculous. He would just call Simon when he got home and ask him what was going on, simple.

***

When Raphael pushed the door to his shared apartment with Magnus open he was surprised to be greeted by noises coming from the kitchen. His best friend had messaged him earlier about being out for the night and being at Alec's place so he frowned in confusion, kicked off his shoes and headed straight for the kitchen. The sight awaiting him there was one he had certainly not expected and judging by Simon's wide-eyed  _deer in headlights_  expression the other had not expected the sight of Raphael either.

"Uh...hi?" Simon lifted a hand, noticed the knife his fingers were still wrapped around and placed said object back on the table to repeat the awkward little wave without holding a dangerously sharp item. Raphael tilted his head, drew his eyebrows together in confusion and leant his shoulder against the doorframe.

" _Hi_ , yourself. Not that I mind but what are doing here?" Raphael questioned and it was a nice surprise seeing his boyfriend but he wasn't quite sure what was going on here. Okay, judging from the food on the table partly cut and placed into bowls, it was certain to say that Simon was in the process of preparing food to be cooked.

"I...uhm...wanted to...," Simon stammered and pointed at the mess of partly chopped up food on the table, "surprise you by cooking for you?" He finished the sentence and now it was the elder's turn to frown slightly at himself for making it sound like a question. Raphael held back a snort of amusement.

"You're too early, though," Simon added, looking at Raphael almost reproachfully, and his expression resembled that of a child not getting the desired present for Christmas. It was kind of endearing that Simon was obviously disappointed about his failed surprise meal and Raphael finally entered the kitchen to walk up to his lover.

"Hate to burst your bubble but it doesn't look like this would be finished even if I had left work on time," Raphael pointed out, his voice laced with slightly teasing amusement. At least he understood now why the other had been acting off the past few days - he had planned to prepare a surprise dinner and had probably over thought the whole thing because that was just what Simon did. The elder was always so convinced he would screw up one way or another that he drove himself nuts and Raphael could imagine him being nervous for the whole week over a simple thing like cooking dinner.

"That...might be true...I'm not good at timing such stuff," Simon sighed with a defeated expression, shoulders dropping a little, and Raphael leant down to press a soft kiss to his boyfriend's temple in hopes to cheer him up again.

"How about we cook together?"

Simon nodded after a short moment but he still wore this almost sullen expression and, sure, the younger understood that the surprised hadn't gone the way it was supposed to but he was a little confused that his lover seemed to take it so seriously. He decided not to dwell on it and just grabbed another knife to join the elder at the table and start chopping up vegetables.

"I thought about getting meat as well but I didn't know what you prefer..." Simon mumbled after a few minutes of silence and Raphael glanced at the other boy, gently nudging his boyfriend's thigh with his knee to get him to look at him as well.

"Don't worry about it. Just because I do eat meat it doesn't mean I want some for every dish and I'm completely fine with eating vegetarian meals." Raphael smiled at Simon and got a rather timid expression in return. He wasn't quite sure if Simon was really just bummed out about the slightly failed dinner surprise or if there was something else going on as well but hopefully the other would open up to him about it without being prompted to do so.

At least Simon's mood seemed to brighten up when they started an easy conversation and Raphael told him about some old lady at the coffee shop earlier who had insisted on non-fat milk in her frappuccino but ordered one with extra whipped cream, plus chocolate syrup, and he honestly had to hold back a comment about non-fat milk not exactly making this any healthier. Sometimes he seriously wondered what was going on in some customer's minds...

When they were finally done with preparing all the ingredients and the water for the noodles had just started to boil, the lights suddenly flickered twice in a matter of seconds before turning off, plunging them into darkness and Raphael was pretty sure he heard the tiniest surprised little shriek from Simon's direction right when this happened. He stared into the pitch black room for a few seconds, blinking in confusion while his eyes adjusted to the sudden change and finally some shapes started to come back into view. Raphael reached for his phone and squinted at the suddenly way too bright screen that pierced the darkness with an icy glow.

"I'm gonna check the fuse box, wait a sec," Raphael said and waited for the other to get his phone out as a light source as well before he left the room and went to said fuse box in the hallway but every switch was still in place and it was safe to assume that the main fuse for the whole building was to blame for the unexpected power cut.

"Looks like it must be the main fuse. Are you okay to stay here while I go check if the neighbours are affected as well and if someone called the landlord or do you want to come with?" He asked Simon, stepping back into the kitchen where the other was still standing in front of the stove with the package of noodles in one hand and his phone in the other. Simon made a little sound in the back of his throat before shaking his head.

"I'm staying here, you go. I'm probably just gonna tumble down the stairs in this darkness anyway," Simon joked a little half-heartedly and in a different situation his look of disappointment directed at the noodles might have been funny but right now it was painfully obvious that he just thought about how this ruined the surprise dinner even more. Raphael stepped closer and gently reached for the package of noodles, setting it down on the counter and he remembered to turn off the stove - better safe than sorry - before he reached out to the other boy. He gingerly placed his hand on Simon's neck to draw him in and press a sweet little kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sure this will be solved quickly,  _cariño_ , don't worry." Raphael's voice was barely above a whisper and he caught Simon's eyes with a tender smile, his fingertips softly pressing into the other's warm skin in silent reassurance. He wanted to say that it was  _just dinner_  and it  _didn't matter_  if they wouldn't be able to make it but something about Simon's whole demeanour told him that would be very unwise things to say right now. This wasn't  _just dinner_  and for some reason, it had been so important to his boyfriend for this to work out, to be a successful surprise and Raphael surely wouldn't belittle this fact by saying insensitive stuff.

Another soft kiss, catching Simon's lips properly this time, and a whispered "Be right back" later and Raphael pulled back to leave the kitchen once more, grabbing his keys automatically before he left the apartment to find out what exactly was going on.

*

It was almost half an hour later when Raphael finally entered his apartment again, shutting the door with a sigh, and he wasn't too surprised that his boyfriend had already put all of the food away, even though without electricity the fridge was pretty useless to store anything in but it was still better than keeping the food out in the open and  _maybe_  the power would come back on before anything could spoil. Simon had left the kitchen and probably chose to wait in Raphael's room for his return so the younger quickly grabbed a box of tea lights from one of the cupboards and went to join his lover.

"The landlord was informed right away but it takes him some time to get here and seems like it'll be an hour or two until an electrician will be here to fix hopefully fix this," Raphael informed his boyfriend when he entered his room and he was surprised to see Simon leaning against the headboard of his bed with a guitar places in his lap, barely lighted by the other's phone in front of him on the covers. Simon's eyes seemed to be glued to his unmoving fingers resting against the strings of his instrument even though Raphael was pretty sure there wasn't much for him to see from this angle in this lighting.

"I got some candles from the kitchen and I could make some sandwiches, how about it?" Raphael suggested and tried to convey his smile in the sound of his voice because Simon refused to look up.

"Nah, not hungry anymore," came the mumbled replying Raphael sighed softly. He decided to set up some of the candles everywhere in the room to provide some more or less proper lighting and after making sure that none of the lit candles might light anything nearby on fire, he sat down on the bed and switched the display of Simon's phone off.

"I'm sorry your dinner plans fell through but please don't look so sad. It sucks, I get it, but it's not the end of the world and I'm honestly happy about the surprise. I was in a rather bad mood when I got home but seeing you and knowing you wanted to do all this for me really made me feel a lot better," Raphael said with a soft smile, reaching out to curl his finger's around one of Simon's hands.

"It's not because of the stupid dinner. Well, it is but not just the dinner but the whole evening...I wanted to make it special - have dinner ready when you got home and...and maybe play a song afterwards..."

"Sure, the dinner didn't go as planned but you could still play the song? And none of this is your fault anyway. The power cut off, it happens, but that doesn't make your idea any less sweet," Raphael replied to Simon's confession and he hated how small his lover sounded - almost a little defeated, even.

"'m not in the mood and it was a stupid idea anyway," Simon dismissed and shrugged before he tried to draw his hand back but Raphael held on a little tighter and drew his lover's hand closer, brushing the knuckles with his lips.

"Come on, don't say that. I'd love to hear the song, baby."

He didn't miss the way Simon's breath caught a little at the use of this pet name and Raphael's lips pulled into an even softer smile that he pressed against the back of his lover's hand, whispering a " _Por favour_ " into the other's skin with the sweetest voice he could muster.

"I'm really not that good...and I don't want the evening to be even more ruined," Simon mumbled and finally he looked up, just enough to gaze at Raphael from underneath his lashes with a timid, self-conscious expression in his beautiful dark brown orbs.

"As far as I know you played in a band in middle school and you even had gigs at some small bar. You performed in front of complete strangers," the younger replied but his tone was still light and expression soft, hopefully conveying that Simon didn't have to do this if he really felt too uncomfortable, for whatever reasons.

"Well, yeah, but that's it...They were strangers, I didn't really care much about what they thought. I didn't want to impress any of them."

"Oh, so you want to impress me, huh? In that case, worry not, because you're the most impressive person I know and there's absolutely no way you could ruin anything by serenading me." He deliberately used 'serenading' and it had the desired effect of Simon's soft looking lips  _finally_  pulling into a tiny smile.

"I didn't plan on  _serenading_  you and you can stop being so horribly cheesy now."

Simon took a deep breath before freeing his hand from Raphael's gentle grasp and placing it back on the strings of his guitar. He sat up a little more, straightening his back and his eyes flickered from the instrument to Raphael in another whiff of uncertainty.

"This might be horribly cheesy as well, though," the elder warned with a nervous little smile that Raphael mirrored with an encouraging smile of his own to show that he absolutely didn't mind. Simon took another shaky breath and it was almost painfully sweet that the other was so nervous in front of his boyfriend. It took all self-control Raphael could muster to not just reach out and kiss this endearingly gorgeous boy. Simon adjusted the guitar in his lap before finally just taking the leap, his fingers brushing the strings to coax the first sounds of the song out of them, soon followed by initially hesitant singing that grew a little more confident after the first few lines.

 _~ Heart beats fast_  
_Colours and promises_  
_How to be brave?_  
_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_  
_But watching you stand alone,_  
_all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow._

_One step closer ~_

Raphael had recognised the song even before Simon had started singing and his breath honestly caught in his chest not only because his boyfriend had chosen this song but also because the other's voice was absolutely lovely. Raphael had never heard his lover sing before this because Simon never wanted to and he never pushed. It was more than worth the wait, this much was certain.

 _~ I have died every day waiting for you_  
_Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you_  
_for a thousand years_  
_I'll love you for a thousand more ~_

Simon's head was a little bowed, eyes fluttering close while his fingers were surprisingly sure in coaxing the right melody from the old acoustic guitar, despite the fact that they were visibly trembling a little. Raphael was distantly aware of his mouth hanging slightly open but he was way too distracted to really pay attention to his own probably very silly looking facial expression.

 _~ Time stands still_  
_Beauty in all he is_  
_I will be brave_  
_I will not let anything take away_  
_What's standing in front of me_  
_Every breath_  
_Every hour has come to this_

_One step closer ~_

Of course, Simon thought of changing the "she" from the original lyrics to "he". Raphael resisted the urge to hum along and simply stuck to watching his lover, how his shoulders were a little more relaxed entering the chorus for the second time and the younger was damn sure his heart missed a beat when Simon opened his eyes to actually look at him during the next few lines.

 _~ And all along I believed I would find you_  
_Time has brought your heart to me_  
_I have loved you for a thousand years_  
_I'll love you for a thousand more_

 _One step closer_  
_One step closer ~_

Simon had been correct with this being cheesy and it was absolutely ridiculous how Raphael's view even blurred a tiny bit, how his heart seemed to be ready to burst out of his ribcage because of this stupid, amazing, perfect boy. The last sounds of the song faded away a few minutes later and there was this fraction of time where they simply stared at each other - Raphael too stunned to form words and Simon nervously waiting for a reaction. And just when the younger was finally about to open his mouth...

"I love you!" Simon's eyes widened at his own exclamation, even though he had just  _serenaded_  his boyfriend about loving him it was a whole different thing to blurt it out like this, to make it more real by not hiding behind someone else's words.

"T-that...that's basically what I wanted to tell you," Simon added sheepishly and before he could even think about averting his eyes, Raphael simply grabbed his face with both hands and gently pulled him in for a deep kiss - effectively shutting the elder up. Simon flailed a tiny bit until his hands came to rest on Raphael’s sides, fingertips digging into the soft t-shirt and pulling the other even closer, not caring about the guitar uncomfortably wedged in between their bodies.

"I love you too, baby."

Simon's lips curled into the most brilliant smile Raphael had ever witnessed and he had half a mind to grab the guitar, put it next to them on the bed, before he pulled his lover into another kiss and softly lauged into the contact at the tiny squeal Simon emitted when he was knocked backwards against the bed's headboard by Raphael's weight, his fall fortunately cushioned by the rather ridiculous amount of pillows the younger owned.

*

"By the way...why do you own tea lights that are shaped like roses?"

"Those are  _not_  mine. Magnus got them for some mushy date idea with his human tree."

"I hope he won't be mad that we ended up using them for our own mushy date."

"He'll live."

The laughter bubbling up in Simon's throat was successfully silenced with the soft press of lips against his own and maybe his love confession hadn't turned out the way he had wanted it to but, oh well, it was still pretty damn perfect in its own imperfect way.

**Author's Note:**

> There, the three magical words finally happened and I hope it was okay? I thought something working put was highly improbable with Simon so, of course, it had to be a tiny disaster. Sorry, Si, but at least it all worked out in the end and that's what counts, right? :)
> 
> Oh and I guess it's obvious I kicked the whole "the young barista/student/Mexican/Latino" kind of descriptions. Basically, because of [this](http://mckvch.tumblr.com/post/149814552377) post on Tumblr and I have to admit I didn't even think about the stupidity of using "latino/Mexican" as a description. Also, it's kind of stupid because I only used the term for Raphael but Simon is a poc as well and I'm simply a big dumb idiot *laughs* And nobody ever writes "the white guy did xy" and it was just my thinking of "hey, I don't want to use the names and personal pronouns all the time" that always leads me to such descriptions but maybe it's better to stick to those in the end? I did still use at least the younger/elder expression because I guess that might be okay? Or is it annoying to read because _yes, we know by now that Raph's the younger one here, thank you very much_? But enough of this rant, who even reads this...
> 
> [Come follow me on Tumblr](http://mckvch.tumblr.com/) to be spammed with Saphael, Malec, food and animals (probably 80% of my blog consist of just this...) and feel free to leave me a message ♥ :D


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